Discussion: Heart Attack..Wake Up Call

Heart Attack..Wake Up CallI am 56 years old and had a heart attack in August of 04. Had a couple of stints put in but no major damage. I thought that I was in pretty good shape, only about 20 pounds overweight and some cholesterol issues. But nothing I thought serious. Like most of us, I felt bullet proof. Played a lot of ball in High School and College so I just figured I was automatically still in shape. Even though I can't run as fast, throw as hard or hit as far. Like most of us, I'd play maybe 4 or 5 games on a saturday coming thru the losers bracket and not ever worry about my heart. Please, everyone needs to WAKE UP, and get real. Start taking care of yourselves. Watch what you put into your body. Most of us take better care of our cars. Why wait for your Doctor to say "change your diet and exercise or die early". I was lucky. Charlie Adcock was not. If this message can convince just one of you guys to get straight. I encourage others to share stories about their friends that have had heart issues , especially other softball players. Get healthy for your kids, your wife, your friends and yourself. Love Ya All

Thanks jax21. After age 50 we all need to have our yearly physicals, watch what we consume and don't get too excited on and off the ballfield. Here's wishing all of you fellow seniors health, happiness, prosperity and a lot of fun on the ballfield.

Jackson; you have been a credit to Senior Softball & many prayers went up for you friend; that's what is great about this & other boards, you can send out a prayer mail & get many returns. I finally had a colonoscopy & a stress test; & I am bugging every one that I know to do so. I look at my age & see that I need to have a long range plan but I also need one for Today; love everyone, watch what I eat & exercise Today. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Your health is like farming, you cannot cram & raise a crop; it has to be planted on time; weeded out; fertilized & cared for, then you reap the harvest.

Gentlemen, I have got to add my two cents to your comments and very much like your comments, it could end up costing you your life. I was 53 when I was told I had prostate cancer and it was found on a "routine-yearly" exam/blood test. I had no indications what-so-ever that anything was wrong with me-nothing! I had laposcpic surgery on Jan. 7, 04 and was released on Jan. 9, 04 and walked 2.5 miles on Jan. 10, 04 and returned to playing softball on Feb. 7, 04 exactly one month after my surgery.
So, as jax21 says, "WAKE UP" and get these tests done because as it was in my case, "early detection" is the key to defeating these problems. If you wait, these problems will grow and then "they" will win in the long run. Trust me, you don't want them to win, get checked and be sure.

my story sound familiar? : 60 ys old, 5' 11" , 180-185 lb, run a mile , no problem, play raquetball for 1- 1 1/2 hrs, pinch run for guys on the team,lift weights,feel indestructable, never had high blood pressure, chol. level 180- 195. pretty much ate what i wanted, then 2 yrs ago, WHAM, I TOOK A STRESS TEST BECAUSE I FELT LIKE I HAD INDIGESTION WHILE PLAYING RAQUETBALL,found that i had 2 veins 90% blocked. had 2 stents put in, almost 2 years later, i still feel great, but now i watch what i consume. no butter,very low oil, no frys, hamburgers, tamales, etc, WE ALL NEED A GOOD SLAP IN THE FACE ONCE IN A WHILE. i was lucky that i checked myself out before damage was done to the heart. REMEMBER, at our age we must get a stress test at least once a year, SOME GUYS WONT GET A SECOND CHANCE, CATCH IT EARLY!

Way to go guys; we need more people to respond to this so that it will stay as one of the top subjects. This great message board can be used to constantly remind us all that we need these tests. I have already received reports from friends that are taking these necessary tests. Please guys; if you have a message for us, let us read about it. Thanks Taterman

I will be 51 in March and am in good shape.I really like this post....so thats why i need to know,what test should i have done? Please let me know what i can do to aviod complications in the future. Thanks .....to all who reply.

Wanted to bring this back to the forefront: due to this post many players have had their colonscopy & the stress test. Now some of the wives are following suit. This is very important to all of us since we are a part of the Senior Softball Family.

I posted this earlier, but my Chicago Classic 60+ team features four guys who had "17" bypasses between them. All were very athletic and had little or no prior warning to the problem. I understand they now have a scan machine that can locate blocks in a matter of minutes. Might be a good idea for us older guys to get scanned each year.

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